Many areas of the country, particularly rural areas, do not have the benefit of a municipial potable water supply system or of a firefighting water supply system. Persons living in these areas are required to obtain their water, both potable and firefighting, from subterranean wells which pump water from underground water sources to above ground. It is necessary that the subterranean wells supply all water requirements, including firefighting water, as the fire department may be too remote to be effective or be incapable of transporting sufficient supplies of water. Consequently, it is frequently the responsibility of the affected individual to use his own well to fight a fire burning on his property, as well as to supply his own drinking water.
A fire in an individual's home in one of these areas requires that the electric power be disconnected in order to prevent short circuiting and/or electrocution. Unfortunately, the pump in the well, which supplies water for the firefighting apparatus, is usually operated by the electric power supplied to the house. Consequently, when the electric power is turned off to prevent short circuiting and/or electrocution, the power to the pump is also turned off with the result that the house or other building will be destroyed because of an inability to supply water to fight the fire.
In view of the above problems, an emergency switchover system for turning off the electric power supplied to the house while supplying electric power to operate the pump is necessary. Such a system would allow a home owner to fight a conflagaration while still being able to prevent short circuiting and/or electrocution in the home or other building. Additionally, the system must provide a means for diverting the pumped water from the house to a fire hydrant.
Schaub, U.S. Pat. No. 3,294,105, discloses a combination domestic and firewater pumping system but does not provide a mechanism for turning off the electric power to the house while permitting the pump to operate.
Donohue, U.S. Pat. No. 1,866,253, describes a system for shutting off the supply of natural gas feeding a house from a gas main while simultaneously operating a sprinkler system or an alarm upon detection of fire.
In view of the limitations of the above described systems for solving the problem of the present invention, a new and original means for turning off the house power supply while simultaneously permitting operation of the well pump is necessary. The present invention describes and claims an emergency firehose switchover system for use with a well which solves the above identified problems and avoids the limitations of the above described systems.